United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-27

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, September 27, 2004

DARFUR INHABITANTS FEEL UNPROTECTED FROM ONGOING ABUSES

The

High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Louise Arbour, concluded her visit to

Sudan over the weekend by saying in a

press statement issued in Khartoum that the vast numbers of

internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur continue to live in a climate of fear, with no confidence in the authorities to protect them from ongoing abuses.

The High Commissioner and Juan Méndez, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the prevention of genocide, spent a week in the western Sudanese region and in Khartoum to explore what further immediate action could be taken to improve the protection of all civilians in Darfur, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable, especially IDPs. They will submit a report with recommendations to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The High Commissioner and Méndez said their assessment revealed a considerable gap in the perception of the situation between the authorities on the one hand and IDPs, international agencies, and national and international non-governmental groups on the other.

"There is an obvious disconnect in the way the Government sees the situation," Arbour said. "This is most obvious and worrisome in the official denial of the extent and gravity of rape and sexual violence against women in Darfur."

The Spokesman later announced that the Secretary-General is expected to attend a briefing on Darfur in the Security Council with Arbour and Mendez on Thursday. Arbour is expected to be in New York starting this Wednesday and would be brought before the press at some point during her stay.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CHIEF CALLS FOR END TO VIOLENCE IN DARFUR

Visiting camps for internally displaced persons in Western Darfur region, the

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),

Ruud Lubbers,

called for a complete end to violence and for the government to work with international agencies to rebuild confidence in the region.

UNHCR also reports that at one camp that Lubbers visited on Monday, displaced people said up to three Darfurians had been killed by militiamen outside the camp over the past few days.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON COTE DIVOIRE

The

Security Council is holding consultations today on Cote dIvoire.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Cote DIvoire,

Albert Tevoedjre, is briefing Council members on the latest report and recent developments.

Also, the

Third Report of the Tripartite Monitoring Group comprised of the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established under the Accra III Agreement, covering the period from 1 to 15 September 2004, has been released.

It says that Judging by the proceedings in the National Assembly, it is self-evident that the timetable set by the Accra III Agreement for the passage of the legislative texts envisaged under the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement might not be met by 30 September 2004. This should come as no surprise as the legislative procedures and power play in these matters all too often demonstrate.

The report concludes that is now also time to see what other demarches could be undertaken to get the four major political leaders, President Laurent Gbagbo, former President Henri Konan Bedie, Alassane Ouattara and Guillaume Soro, to meet with a view to taking yet another critical look at what political formula can be found to resolve the outstanding issues.

[Following consultations, Council President, Ambassador Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo of Spain, read a press statement in which the Council expressed concern over the lack of progress in key sectors of the national reconciliation process in Côte dIvoire, just before the deadlines agreed in Accra III. The members of the Council underlined that this lack of progress is not only holding back the peace process in Côte dIvoire, but is also detrimental to further progress in the sub&#8209;region as a whole.]

U.N. MISSION INVESTIGATING MURDER OF VOLUNTEER IN BURUNDI

The

UN Operation in Burundi today

extended its condolences to the family of a

UN Volunteer, of Senegalese nationality, who was shot to death in Bujumbura over the weekend.

The mission says it continues to investigate the circumstances of his murder and urges the Burundian authorities to do everything within their capacity so as to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this act.

HAITI: RELIEF ACTIVITIES HINDERED BY DAMAGED ROADS, THREAT OF LOOTING

The

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has placed the latest death toll from

Tropical Storm Jeanne at 1,330, with 1,056 people still missing and close to 300,000 badly affected by the floods.

According to the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there is still an urgent need for shelter materials, beds, tools and fuel, and the risk of the spread of water-borne diseases remains high.

Humanitarian agencies are providing relief where possible, but are hindered by damaged roads and the threat of looting.

UN peacekeepers are providing security for food distributions, with an additional 140 troops assigned to do this over the weekend. Argentine troops are also distributing food and water purification tablets.

Over the past few days, UN humanitarian agencies and their NGO partners have distributed more than 120 metric tonnes of food as well as basic medicines and household materials. NGOs are delivering clean water by tanker truck.

As floodwaters recede and access opens up, humanitarian agencies are discovering that flooding has killed hundreds and affected thousands more in the towns and villages north and west of hard-hit Gonaives.

The Executive Director of

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund,

Carol Bellamy, plans to visit

Haiti shortly.

The

Food and Agriculture Organization has

approved a regional project for $400,000 to assist countries in the Caribbean and some parts of Latin America affected by the devastating, ongoing hurricane season.

FAO: BIRD FLU WONT BE ERADICATED IN THE NEAR FUTURE

The

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the

World Organization for Animal Health have

called the

avian influenza or bird flu epidemic in Asia a "crisis of global importance" that will continue to demand the attention of the international community.

The two organizations say that

recent outbreaks in China, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand show that the virus continues to circulate in the region and probably wont be eradicated in the near future.

They say major investments are required to strengthen veterinary services, more research is urgently needed on the role of wildlife, domestic ducks and pigs in transmitting the virus among animals and a permanent threat to animal and human health continues to exist.

FAO has published guidelines to review the factors that should be taken into account in designing and implementing control programmes for the virus.

ANNAN MET 49 HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT LAST WEEK

The unexpectedly high number of Heads of State and Government attending

this years General Debate in the General Assembly has put additional pressure on the

Secretary-Generals schedule.

Last week, he managed to see 49 Heads of State or Government, 14 Foreign Ministers and three other high-ranking officials. On Friday alone, he had 20 high-level appointments.

Final figures will be available when the General Debate wraps up this Friday.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. RELIEF AGENCY EXPRESSES SORROW OVER DEATH OF PALESTINIAN SCHOOL-GIRL: The

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has

expressed it deepest sorrow at the death of a 10 year-old Palestinian girl. She died from injuries after having been hit by Israeli gunfire while sitting at her desk at an UNRWA-run school in Gaza on 7 September.

GREATER MOMENTUM SEEN IN COLLECTION OF HEAVY WEAPONS IN AFGHANISTAN: As election day approaches in

Afghanistan, the UN Mission in that country is reporting greater momentum in the collection of heavy weapons. So far, it says, more than 1,900 heavy weapons have been collected, close to half of all the operable and repairable such weapons in the country.

NEW PROJECT TO REDUCE IMPACT OF FLOODS IN MOZAMBIQUE: The

UN Environment Programme is

funding a multi-million dollar project to reduce the impacts of flooding on the lower Limpopo River, in Mozambique. The initiative is in response to the devastating loss of life and livelihoods which recently occurred in the region. The project aims to improve the way land along the river is managed, boost the ability of governments, local authorities and communities to respond to extreme flooding events and establish early warning systems.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162 -

press/media only

Fax. 212-963-7055

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212)

963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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